Hugo Calderano, ranked third in the world, continued his extraordinary form this year by successfully defending his title at the WTT Star Challenge in Ljubljana.

In the early hours of June 23, Hugo Calderano, ranked third in the world, won the men's singles final at the 2025 WTT Star Challenge in Ljubljana against France's F. Lebrun, ranked 26th, with a score of 4:2 (12-10, 15-13, 11-13, 8-11, 11-9, 11-6), successfully defending his title. In the women's singles final, Japan's Nagasaki Miyu, ranked 26th, triumphed over her former doubles partner Kihara Miyu in a "Japan Derby" with a score of 4:1 (12-10, 11-2, 11-4, 7-11, 11-6), claiming her first WTT Star Challenge singles title of her career.

"The excitement from Brazil," Hugo Calderano secured his second men's singles championship at the WTT Star Challenge in Ljubljana.

Calderano faced increasingly tough opponents on his path to victory. He first came from behind to defeat Taiwan's rising star Kao Cheng-Jui 3:2 in the round of 16, then swept world number 37 Pucar in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals against "Glasses Brother" A. Lebrun, Calderano initially led 9:1 in the first game but was overtaken, losing two consecutive games 11:13, 11:13. However, he quickly regained his composure and controlled the match from the third game onward, winning three straight games 11:8, 11:8, 11:6 to advance to the final.

World number 7 F. Lebrun first defeated Japan's rising star Matsushima Haruka 3:1 in the quarter-finals, then overcame world number 10 Dako Jokic from Slovenia with the same score in the semi-finals. This marked the second consecutive year that Lebrun faced Calderano in the men's singles final at the WTT Star Challenge in Ljubljana, but he ultimately failed to achieve revenge. Following this match, Calderano's career record against F. Lebrun improved to 3 wins and 4 losses, with Lebrun slightly ahead.

F. Lebrun, ranked seventh in the world, faced Calderano in the men's singles final at the WTT Star Challenge in Ljubljana for the second consecutive year.

With his third victory over F. Lebrun, Calderano lifted the WTT Star Challenge men's singles trophy for the third time, maintaining his extraordinary form in 2025. It is noteworthy that over the past few months, Calderano has made history in the ITTF Men's World Cup and the Doha World Table Tennis Championships, and now, on his 29th birthday, he has won a WTT series title.

"This final showcased a high level of play; I believe we both performed very well. It was a significant psychological battle, with the score margin in almost every game being around two points. Therefore, it came down to details and who could win the crucial points. F. Lebrun is a great player, and he could have won this match. This is undoubtedly a great outcome, so I am very happy with this victory," Calderano said after the match.

Nagasaki Miyu will use the confidence gained from this tournament as a stepping stone for future success.

Japanese players Nagasaki Miyu and Kihara Miyu faced off in the women's singles final, both of whom had been in excellent form throughout the tournament. Starting from the round of 16, Nagasaki Miyu defeated three strong Chinese players: Han Fei, He Zhuojia, and Chen Yi. Kihara Miyu also performed impressively, overcoming Hina Hayata, Shi Xunyao, and former world number one Zhu Yuling, who switched to represent Macau, to reach the final. After winning the championship, Nagasaki Miyu expressed, "I am very happy to win my first title at the Star Challenge. Of course, I aimed for the championship and gave it my all, but honestly, I didn't expect to win, so this victory makes me even happier." Japanese media reported on June 23 that after defeating Chen Yi in the semi-finals to reach the final, Nagasaki Miyu struck a confident pose, stating that she would use the confidence gained from this tournament as a foundation for her future leaps.